1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a composite vehicle door structure and, more particularly, to a composite vehicle door structure including a tailored steel inner panel and a plastic outer panel wherein the panels are separated by a belt-line reinforcing member.
2. Discussion
In the automobile industry, it is desirable to limit the number of parts necessary to make various components. For example, most "conventional" vehicle door assemblies are generally constructed on an assembly line and involve close to 100 separate parts. These conventional door assemblies tend to be unnecessarily heavy and add significantly to the cost of the vehicle. The conventional door assembly usually includes a relatively thin inner panel formed by metal stamping, an outer panel of metal which is hemmed around the marginal edges of the inner panel and an intrusion beam extending longitudinally across the inner panels as major components. Often, it is necessary to further reinforce the inner panel along the side edges and proximate to the hinges because of the weight of the door assembly and the operational loads to which the door is subjected.
There are several problems associated with the conventional door assemblies and methods of manufacturing them. It is time consuming to require workers to assemble an excessive number of parts and then make sure the parts are properly aligned within the door structure itself. In order to allow sufficient time for the workers to property assemble the parts and position them within the door, the assembly line has to be run at a relatively slow speed. Due to the high number of parts, the cost of manufacturing the door assembly is higher than needed.
The present invention is directed to solving one or more of these problems.